Committed to Keeping A Commitment

Two weeks ago I did something crazy. I declared on Facebook that I was starting Jillian Michaels’ (yes, that Jillian Michaels) “30 Day Shred” video.

The promise is that you can “lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days.” Well, I know better than that. That’s not why I wanted to do the video. It’s a 25-minute video that combines cardio, strength and abs, and I liked the idea that I can combine all these thing into one short workout a day. But more importantly, I wanted to see if I can stick to a commitment.

It’s been a long-standing belief of mine that I can’t stick with anything. That I give up when the going gets tough. And if I look back through my life I can see many examples of this. Maybe a self-fulfilling prophecy?

But since coming to Green Mountain, I can see the logical, and often biological reasons for not being able to stick with things. Two shining examples:

Dieting. I could never stick to a diet. Well, who can? When we restrict calories or eliminate carbs, that’s all our body wants, and why we usually end up gaining weight.

Exercise plans. The all-or-nothing mentality is quite common and a sensational recipe for disaster. Guilty. The thinking is “either I am in it 100 percent and doing it perfectly, or I won’t do it at all, because it’s not worth it, right?” Um…..no.

So, I’m approaching my commitment a little more realistically this time, which I think will increase the likelihood of success. Here’s how:

Making unrealistic expectations realistic. I don’t expect that I am going to be able to or WANT to do this video every day for the next 30 days. My commitment is to do it for 30 days, but I’m okay with it taking 45, 60 or even 75.

I’ve reframed my focus and am looking beyond the scale. I realize that unhooking exercise from weight lossis key to making it a consistent part of my life. I’ve created affirmations that I say to myself now when negative self talk creeps into my thoughts, such as “My health is worth 25 minutes a day” and “My body thanks me for taking care of it.”

Today will be my seventh workout in 14 days and I’m feeling pretty stoked about seeing this thing through. And you better bet your bottom dollar I’ll be blogging about it when I do.

I would love your thoughts, advice, encouragement, whatever!

14 responses to “Committed to Keeping A Commitment”

This is so me! I totally understand what you’re saying and love the reframe you’re doing. All-or-nothing is so dangerous and just setting smaller goals is a great way to get around that. Keep up the good work!

GO LISA! Whenever I ever made a commitment to myself like that, if I DID manage to stick to it for 30 days, then in my head, I felt like I was done…and exercise ended. I’ve learned that exercise (which I now call movement) needs to be part of our lives long term, in order for our bodies to function properly and be healthy. To me it’s no longer a commitment per say, as it is a basic truth I’m learning to accept.

Love this Lisa! I very much understand the “all or nothing” mentality and how it can derail us so easily. Lately I’ve been looking through the lens of taking imperfect action, knowing that action is what gets me out of my head. I also like, “just do it…a little more than you don’t” 🙂

Doing good , although I’ve only actually been home for 4 days lol (took me a few days to get home) A lot of adjustment, figuring out what to focus on. But I’ve been exercising and eating properly, so I feel in control and my head is in a good place. It feels do-able. But I miss Green Mountain 🙂

Thanks, Shannon and Karen! I am really trying to look at this differently. In the past, I’ve beaten myself up for not losing weight fast enough, my measurements not changing fast enough, etc., so I’m really focusing this time on my body being grateful to me for caring for it. I think that will help me on the days when I don’t want to do it, or don’t think I’m progressing quickly enough – that my body needs care, and it doesn’t matter if it takes me 3o days or 75 days.

Thank you, Maria! She is hardcore, but one thing I forgot to mention is that I don’t care if it takes 30, 40, or 75 days, and I also don’t care if I stay on level 1 the entire time instead of bumping my workout up every 10 days, like she recommends. I will do what feels right.

Lisa, your post was inspiring to read. The negative thoughts constantly pop in my head – you’ve given me some good responses to combat them with. Love the thought of doing it only for body caring and not for the pounds. I’m restructuring around that idea now!

This is how I felt about P-90X. I had no desire to go through the entire program for a 90 day time frame, but I did want to try all the different routines in my own time frame. It made a huge difference in my excitement about it and a huge difference in sore muscles!

Agreed, Robyn. Like I was telling Maria, I don’t care if I even make it out of level one. There are three levels, and I’ll be happy if I can make it to level 2 at some point, but I don’t have any kind of deadline set. When I’m ready.